For Betty and Raul Malo, lead singer of country band the Mavericks, their romantic life has been punctuated by a series of severe storms. August of ’92: Hurricane Andrew throttled the Florida coastline, destroying Betty’s home just months before their wedding. So she and Raul eloped instead and moved to Nashville. But then, May of 2010: A 1,000-year flood devastated the city. In this episode, we’ll hear from Betty about the couple’s struggles over 25 years of marriage and learn why their experience resonates with poet Allison Boyd Justus, who takes what she’s heard and turns it into poetry.
Versify is a production of Nashville Public Radio and The Porch — Nashville’s nonprofit literary center. Editing for this episode came from WPLN’s Mack Linebaugh and Tony Gonzalez, with additional editing by Anita Bugg and The Porch’s Susannah Felts. The episode was written, hosted and produced by Joshua Moore.
The music is by Raul Malo of The Mavericks and by Daddy Long Legs, found through the Free Music Archive. The show is distributed by PRX.
Today’s story and poem were recorded by Luke Wiget at Cornelia Fort Airpark.
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